


Pièce Á Trois

by J_E_McCormickGal, TiltingPlanet



Series: Say Nothing Of It [9]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Asexual Character, M/M, M/M/M, Polyamorous relationship, aka hey look this pairing does already exist, new OT3 yesss, our babies, with bonus Joly and Bossuet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2013-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-06 19:50:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/739461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_E_McCormickGal/pseuds/J_E_McCormickGal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiltingPlanet/pseuds/TiltingPlanet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>None of them were really expecting this, but they wouldn't change it for the world. Because, honestly, they couldn't be happier.</p><p>The tale of how Courfeyrac, Combeferre and Jehan all ended up together, with guest appearances from Joly and Bossuet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pièce Á Trois

It was well known that Courfeyrac loved freely. He was, by nature, affectionate, and none of his friends could escape the multitude of cuddles they received on a daily basis - not that they wanted to. It was not at all unusual to find him hung across Bahorel's shoulders, or reclining back against Feuilly, or sprawled out with his head in Combeferre's lap, or sat with Jehan sat in his lap, his arms circling the poet's waist. It was just Courfeyrac.

It was an unconscious decision that Jehan became his favourite. The poet was completely unperturbed by being cuddled or kissed or swooped up, and in fact even seemed to enjoy the attention, so it became most common to find Courfeyrac with Jehan. It wasn't really seen as a thing, either by them or their friends - just Courf being Courf, and Jehan going along willingly.

Another commonplace occurrence was Courfeyrac's attempts to win over Combeferre. What had probably started out as friendly teasing - Combeferre came second only to Enjolras when it came to disinterest in sexual matters - had developed into a quest of sorts, spurred on by genuine interest. Courfeyrac and Combeferre had known each other for the better part of ten years, and very close for it. So when he wasn't cuddling with Jehan, Courfeyrac could often be found flirting with Combeferre.

Combeferre, about five years ago, had come to the conclusion that he was a homo-romantic asexual. He had none of the lust problems most young men did, none of the desire to 'hook up' with anyone. He could appreciate people aesthetically and the idea of kissing people was one he liked, but there was nothing when it came to the matter of sex.

Only Enjolras was aware of this. They'd been friends since they were infants, practically brothers, of course Combeferre would confide in him.  Obviously, Enjolras accepted it without question. Just thanked Combeferre for telling him, told him he was there to listen when 'Ferre needed it, and they left it at that.

Nothing changed, their group of friends, more often than not, was a tactile bunch. Courfeyrac was a cuddly tease, so Combeferre generally dismissed his flirtations. When they continued on after three months with no sign of end, Combeferre realized it was probably best to... Well. Tell his friend. Granted, he was romantically interested, this much was true. He just couldn't give Courfeyrac the sexual part.

And this was how Combeferre had ended up outside Courfeyrac's dorm, knocking despite the fact that none of the Amis generally bothered locking doors when everyone was around.

Courfeyrac leapt up out of his desk chair, far too happy to have a distraction from the god-awful studying he'd ended up subjecting himself to, and bounded across his dorm to open the door. Seeing that it was Combeferre outside, he grinned and pulled him into a quick embrace, then stepped back to allow him to step into the dorm.

"'Ferre! You know, you could have just come in, I wouldn't have minded." he said by way of greeting.

"I never know what you're up to." Combeferre smiled mildly as he entered the dorm, sitting on the empty bed and fidgeting slightly. "There's something I need to talk to you about." Okay, that sounded bad. "It's nothing bad- well. Maybe it'll be bad from your perspective. But before I start, you have to promise you'll be quiet until I finish."

Courfeyrac blinked and settled himself back in his desk chair, turning it so he could be facing Combeferre. He was curious and, admittedly, a little worried about what Combeferre needed to talk to him about so seriously. Then again, Combeferre was just generally a serious person.

"Okay. Promise." he offered a teasing half-smirk, since they both knew he was never very good at keeping quiet, and continued jokingly "Shoot. But not literally, being shot would suck."

"Only you." Combeferre shook his head in fond exasperation before straightening up, putting on his 'presenting' face. "No one but Enjolras is aware of this, but I'm a homoromantic asexual. You keep flirting with me and, while I return the sentiment, I think it best you know that I'm not interested in having sex with you- or anyone for that matter." The speech was a little rushed, but Combeferre rather wanted to get the words out and over with. His shoulders slumped a little, as though a weight gone, and he breathed out slowly in quiet relief, fiddling with his phone in apprehension.

Courfeyrac stayed silent for a moment longer while he processed the information, before smiling kindly.

"Well that would explain a lot." he said, almost to himself, then stood up to walk across the room and place a warm hand on Combeferre's shoulder. "Thanks for telling me."

Then, grinning teasingly, he tilted his head questioningly. "So, 'returning the sentiment', huh?"

"I figured you deserved to know." Combeferre said and wrinkled his nose, swatting half-heartedly at Courfeyrac. "Yes." It was a mumble, but he lifted his eyes from his lap to look at his friend. "I do. Like you, that is. And if we could figure something out, I would, ah, like to go out with you." Damn, he was never this awkward. Dating was a completely foreign territory for Combeferre.

Courfeyrac laughed easily, and dropped himself down beside Combeferre. His grin relaxed slightly, his tone becoming a bit more serious. "Well I mean, I can't promise to abstinence. I don't... work like that." Here it was Courfeyrac who scrunched up his nose, not entirely happy with his own wording. "But, I don't know, if you'd be okay with something slightly open..." he trailed off, looking to Combeferre to see if he'd understood what he was proposing. Courfeyrac liked sex for two reasons; the pleasure, and the intimacy, and he wasn't often a simple pleasure seeker. He'd slept with quite a few of their friends on various occasions - nothing serious, but enough to satisfy him - and sometimes hit up girls at bars, all casual occurrences, never more than a fling for the night. He couldn't promise he'd give up sex for Combeferre, but he could promise to be exclusively romantically involved with him. It was a compromise he wasn't sure would be accepted, but one he decided it wouldn't hurt to propose.

Combeferre's lips pursed in thought. He couldn't exactly say he cared if Courfeyrac was sexually involved with other people, he sort of expected it. Courf was tactile, to be mild, and if he wanted to have sex, well, that was his business. It was something Combeferre couldn't give him. But being romantically exclusive was a must, and Courfeyrac was offering that, or that's what it seemed like. "I think  that would work. I mean, it's fair. I could- Ah. I just have no idea when it comes to sex, so I really wouldn't be able to do anything for you there, so a sexually open relationship is fine by me."

Courfeyrac's grin returned full-force. "That's great!" He said, slinging an arm around Combeferre's shoulder and planting a kiss on his cheek. "So, boyfriends?" His eyes were bright and hopeful; his smile equal parts cheeky, playful and genuine.

Combeferre smiled in response and nodded. "Boyfriends." He returned the cheek kiss with one of his own, smile admittedly a little goofy. But who cared, this was turning out much better than he thought it would.

"Yessss." Courfeyrac said, playfully fist-pumping as if in victory, and pulling Combeferre in for a closer hug with a laugh.

~~::.::~~

From there, things went relatively normally, with a few necessary exceptions; if Courfeyrac accidently let himself get too heated he'd back off a bit, sometimes excuse himself for a few minutes, and eventually return for more cuddles and kisses. If he ever did go out for a night, he'd let Combeferre know, and would shower him in affections the next morning. Both were comfortable and happy with their relationship, having made it worked quite nicely.

Eventually they came to a point where they thought their friends should know. They discussed it and, once Combeferre was comfortable with the idea of 'coming out' - as he'd said, the only person he'd expressly told was Enjolras - did just that. It took quite a bit of explaining for everyone to quite grasp the dynamics and how it all worked, but they were all happy enough for the two.

The next hitch came a few months further down the line. Courfeyrac started noticing a pull of attraction to Jehan - he'd always been close to the wordsmith, and always extremely affectionate to him, and had Combeferre turned him down he had to say he'd probably have ended up with Jehan down the line. However, the fact that he was still attracted to Combeferre, and still very much happy with being in a relationship with him, made it all a little confusing. After a lot of inner thought and debate, and finding neither attraction seeming to budge, he decided that perhaps questioning their resident polyamorous friends on the matter could help.

He stood outside Joly and Bossuet's dorm for almost a full minute, nervously shifting his weight, before eventually knocking (knocking was usually a good idea when it came to Joly and Bossuet) and waiting.

Bossuet looked up from where he was sprawled on the floor, any number of textbooks and notes arrayed around him, a highlighter clamped in his teeth. He attempted a 'come in' from around the implement before spitting it out. "Come in!" He said, more distracted than not, finally tearing his eyes from his notes to stand up and pick his way through his scattered materials to the door. "Hey, Courf. What's up?"

I uh... have a question." Courfeyrac said, making himself comfortable in one of the few areas of clear floor.

"What sort of a question?" Joly asked as he walked in from the kitchenette, two mugs of coffee in his hands and what looked like a packet of antihistamines between his teeth. He set both mugs down on a small coffee table that was far away enough from Bossuet's textbooks that he couldn't manage to spill anything over them, and removed the packet from his mouth.

"A relationship advice question?" Courfeyrac offered.

Bossuet raised an eyebrow and tilted his ehad, flopping back on the floor among his books. "Okay. I wasn't expecting that one." Frowning slightly, he carefully put his papers away and stacked his books, shoving them all to the side to give Courfeyrac his full attention.

"Didn't you just take some of those two hours ago?" He asked Joly briefly. He at least thought it was about two hours ago. Joly shook his head at Bossuet quickly, checking the packet before taking out and swallowing two of the pills. "You've been studying for quite a while, I'm due another dose." he said as he settled himself beside Bossuet.

"If you say so." Bossuet looked sceptic, but he accepted this and settled his chin on Joly's shoulder to look at Courfeyrac. "But no, what is it? Problems with 'Ferre?"

"No! No not... problems." Courfeyrac replied quickly with a shake of his head. He ran a hand through his hair, sucking in a breath. "It's just, I think I may be attracted to Jehan as well... and I'm not really sure what to do about it."

And again he was not expecting that.

Joly chuckled quietly, murmuring "Oh, do you remember Musichetta?" to Bossuet.

He nodded aaginst Joly's shoulder and hummed. "Well, I know you and Combeferre are in a sexually open relationship. But how would he feel about romantically involving someone else? Does he like Jehan as well?"

"I... don't know." Courfeyrac mumbled. "I wasn't exactly sure how to ask him how he'd feel about involving someone else. That's why I came to ask you guys."

"It can seem a scary concept." Joly nodded, leaning into Bossuet slightly. "But the best thing to do is get it out in the open and ask him. Tell him you've been considering it, and ask what his thoughts are. If he's interested, then you have to think about talking to Jehan. If not, well, you two will have to work it out from there." "Honesty's the best policy and all that. Keeping someone in the dark never ends well." Bossuet agreed with a definitive nod, reaching across Joly's lap for a stray paper. "Planning out how you're going to bring it up is probably a good idea too. I don't think being spontaneous would end well in this sort of thing."

"No. Took me weeks." Joly agreed. "Hopefully it won't take you quite that long."

"How are you supposed to bring it up?" Courfeyrac asked. Joly hummed, looking slightly thoughtful.

"You want him to know it's a serious suggestion. Tell him you have something you'd like to discuss with him. Suggest the idea of involving someone else, see what his thoughts are. He knows you, and I'm sure he knows how polyamority works, so I don't think you should have to worry too much about him taking offence."

"Making it clear he isn't doing anything wrong would also be good." Bossuet would admit to moments of insecurity when he and Joly had first started bringing third parties into their relationship, and if he remembered right, Joly had had the same issue. "Reassure him you're happy with him."

Joly nodded and briefly pressed a kiss to Bossuet's temple. "It's not an easy thing to do." He said sympathetically. "But it can work. Combeferre is understanding. I'm sure you'll be fine whatever he says."

Joly smiled kindly and reached forward to pat Courfeyrac's knee. Courfeyrac offered a small smile in return.

"Thanks guys." he said, and as he stood he quickly embraced the two.

"Any time." Joly assured.

"Wish me luck!" Courfeyrac grinned.

"Maybe I shouldn't, I might jinx you." Bossuet said with a mild smile. "But go for it, I'm sure it'll work out just fine." He was confident Courfeyrac would be fine. Of everyone in their group, Combeferre was the most reasonable, relaxed, and collected. Courf would have the easiest time talking to him about it.

 Courfeyrac laughed at the comment as he left the dorm, sending one last thankful smile at the two over his shoulder.

~~::.::~~

It was the next evening that Courfeyrac decided to breach the subject with Combeferre. He'd spent most of the previous night thinking everything over, and most of the day planning out words, though god knew he'd probably forget every one of them. Tonight, Combeferre was sharing his dorm for the night, and he thought that waiting would only make it harder. He stared at an open textbook that he honestly wasn't reading, last-minute considerations running across his mind as he waited for Combeferre to arrive.

Combeferre, admittedly, had gotten distracted by talking with Enjolras. The blond had wanted help figuring out some last minute things for a rally, and time had slipped away. It wasn't too big a deal, of course. Courfeyrac's dorm was just down the hall, and they'd been together long enough Combeferre was comfortable entering without knocking. "Sorry i took so long, Enjolras wanted to talk out some last things for his rally tomorrow."

Courfeyrac looked up from the textbook, thankfully putting the textbook aside and standing to embrace Combeferre.

"I know how he gets." he chuckled, bumping his nose affectionately against Combeferre's temple. He waited until they were sprawled across the bed - Combeferre sat against the headboard and Courfeyrac lounging against his side, before taking a deep breath for courage and saying "I want to talk to you about something.", wincing, and amending "Did that sound bad? It wasn't meant to sound bad."

Combeferre huffed a laugh, weaving his fingers into Courfeyrac's hair and lightly rubbing his scalp. "No, you're alright. What is it?" Whatever it was couldn't be bad, if Courfeyrac was worried about upsetting him. "Whatever it is, you're obviously nervous about it."

Courfeyrac chuckled. "You can tell?" he asked, nudging into the touch.

"You're not normally this jittery." Combeferre pointed out, leaning his temple against Courfeyrac's, fingers still running through the other's hair.

Courfeyrac hummed. As predicted, he'd forgotten any of his more practiced words. He took Combeferre's free hand into his own and ran the pad of his thumbs across Combeferre's fingertips, and ventured onwards "How would you feel about... possibly letting another person into our relationship?" he looked up at Combeferre, meeting his eyes. "You know, like Joly and Bossuet do."

Combeferre’s eyebrows went up in surprise and he didn't respond immediately. Another person. Well. "I suppose that depends on the person." Of course there were other people he had romantic feelings for. He was very happy with Courfeyrac, yes, but everyone has attraction to others beyond their partner now and again.

Courfeyrac seemed to sigh slightly in relief as he wasn't immediately rebuffed, returning to playing with Combeferre's fingers. "I was thinking Jehan." he said. "You know how sweet he is. Never could resist his way with pretty words." here he offered a joking grin. Courfeyrac was well known for pestering Jehan for poems.

Combeferre blinked.

Courfeyrac was going to get very good at throwing him for a loop very quickly.

"Jehan? Well..." He bit his lip and hummed softly in thought. he'd considered it, once or twice. Jehan was sweet and excellent company, and he held that romantic appeal that Combeferre had for Courfeyrac, albeit quite obviously not as strong. "I think that would be alright. If he agreed to it."

Courfeyrac beamed up at him, and leaned up to press a kiss to Combeferre's cheek in thanks. "Love you~." he smiled. He knew he'd asked a lot of Combeferre by proposing the idea - after all, not everyone would be comfortable with the idea of sharing their partner - but was glad to have been received well.

Combeferre laughed softly and returned the gesture. "I think the question here is how Jehan will react to it." He had no doubt that Jehan would fit in with them. Jehan was just as affectionate as Courfeyrac was, just as good company. "I don't think three of us will fit on a dorm bed, however."

"I can't imagine he'd react badly." Courfeyrac offered. Jehan was sweet, and Romantic to the core. Whether or not he accepted, they could be sure he'd be nothing but flattered and maybe tinged a little pink, as Jehan often was. He laughed, looking at the edge of the bed, which he was barely avoiding falling off by clinging to Combeferre like a koala. "Maybe we could get another one and push them together. That'd work. Right?"

"I can't see Jehan reacting badly to anything. That isn't him." Combeferre agreed, shuffling slightly on the bed to rest his chin on Courfeyrac's head. "I don't know how well that would work, it's cramped enough in here with two beds and the desk." Not to mention the room was only half Courfeyrac's. "The same goes for my and Enjolras' room."

"I don't know, I bet he could hold a pretty mean grudge if he wanted to." Courfeyrac said. Jehan seemed innocent and peaceful enough, but he didn't doubt that if something or someone, somehow, managed to offend him, he could easily be sharp. Of course, he wasn't exactly sure what you'd actually have to _do_ to get Jehan that mad at you. "Cuddlepuddles always seem to work. Blankets and cushions galore. Problem solved." He grinned up at Combeferre, then yawned. It had gotten pretty late, what with Enjolras stealing Combeferre's attention.

"I still can't believe you say that." Combeferre chuckled. 'Cuddlepuddle' was by far one of the stranger phrases Courfeyrac used. Noting that Courfeyrac was yawning, Combeferre shifted around until he was lying down, dragging Courfeyrac with him. "Are we going to get breakfast tomorrow morning, or do you have plans already?" Combeferre asked, lying on his side and slinging his arms around Courfeyrac's stomach.

"Cuddlepuddle is a great word, shut up." Courfeyrac pretended to look offended, but the grin tugging on the corner of his lips gave him away. He never was good at hiding smiles. He shifted closer to Combeferre, tucking his head under his chin and nuzzling at his collar bone, murmuring "Nope, no plans, breakfast sounds good." before yawning a second time, and closing his eyes to let himself drift off.

~~::.::~~

It was another week until they managed to catch Jehan, who had been quite busy writing for an assessment, but Courfeyrac managed to pull him aside after movie night in him and Marius' dorm.

"Hmm? What is it, Courfeyrac?" Jehan asked, looking up at him with a small smile.

"Well, you see, me and Combeferre want to ask you something." Courfeyrac said, looking over at Combeferre. Jehan looked between the two of them and nodded, signalling for them to continue.

"Courf and I were talking last week, a lot." Combeferre pursed his lips slightly in thought, attempting to think of the best way to ask this. It was, well, an odd question and he really had no way of knowing how Jehan would react. "We both like you. And wanted to... Would you want to go out with us?"

Jehan blinked in surprise and flushed pink, having not expected that question at all. He looked for a moment between Combeferre and Courfeyrac; the former was stood straight, his face neutral but questioning, the latter looking at him with those wide eyes he got when he was nervous and hopeful.

Jehan adored all of his friends, and couldn't truthfully say he'd never considered being with some of them; to try and say that he'd not been even the slightest bit disappointed when Courfeyrac and Combeferre had gotten together would be a full out lie. Courfeyrac was charming, and the poet wasn't entirely sure there was a person out there who would resist him - even Enjolras was not too fussy about his affectionate friend - and Combeferre was exceptionally kind, and he'd been very close to the two since his early teens. The idea was not at all an unattractive one.

After a small, thoughtful pause, he smiled softly. "I'd love to."

Courfeyrac's face broke out into one of his bright smiles, a small laugh escaping him as he swooped Jehan into his arms.

Combeferre couldn't help a pleased laugh, smiling at Courfeyrac's excitement. He leaned in, hugging them both, pressing a kiss to Courfeyrac's temple. That had gone far better than he'd thought, and the resulting feeling was leaving him almost giddy. Granted, this just made his relationship that much odder, but it also made it that much better. Jehan smiled as he was squished slightly between the two, tilting his head to kiss their chins. Courfeyrac nudged his face against Combeferre's, still grinning wildly, and slung one arm around Combeferre's waist, the other hand dropping to rest on Jehan's hip. He really, honestly couldn't be happier.

**Author's Note:**

> With Tilt writing Combeferre and Bossuet, and me writing Courfeyrac, Jehan and Joly.


End file.
